Unfree World
by ElocinAkira
Summary: Her entire life was stolen away. At least that's how she saw it. She had never done anything wrong. She lived an honest life, and all for her sister. But she had nothing to continue that life for. Not anymore. Eventual Lightis
1. Falling Down

_I found a quote and it gave me the most beautiful burst of inspiration. I don't know who it's by unfortunately. If anyone knows, please let me know! The quote combined with "Once Upon a December" and "Stereo Hearts" led to this interesting little creation. Let me know if you like it._

_Summary: Her entire life was stolen away. At least that's how she saw it. She had never done anything wrong. She lived an honest life, and all for her sister. But she had nothing to continue that life for. Not anymore._

_"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."_

* * *

><p>"Our hearts brim with sorrow, but life must go on. We will live as she wanted us to, in joy and peace. We shall not mourn forever. May the Maker lead us all to peace and prosperity, and let our weary souls be free once more."<p>

I couldn't listen to the words of the priest. There was no emotion in them, no life, and no care. As people filed out of the cathedral, they gave condolences. "I'm sorry" meant nothing. There was no need to "stay strong" when there was nothing left to stay strong for. When everything in your life is gone, there is nothing left for you. No old friends to visit with, no sisters to hug you and tell you everything would be fine. No love, no joy, no anything.

When I finally gathered the strength to look around, the entire place was empty, save for the one girl at the front of the room. Even the living dead priest had left. I slowly tiptoed over to the lovely girl at the front. My dear sister. She had grown to be so beautiful…her hair curled so flawlessly down her shoulder. Her lips were lush and red without needing makeup. Her skin was ivory, and oh so lovely. Her eyes were always the most beautiful, so much like my own, but softer. They were like liquid crystal. I had always been envious I was not as pretty as her.

No, I could not describe her beauty enough. And soon…soon I would never be able to see the true thing before me ever again. I ran a hand along her pale face gently and felt her soft curls once more. This was the last time I'd ever be able to.

"Dear Serah," I whispered, too afraid to speak any louder. I was on the verge of breaking, and I knew it. "You were always so sweet…you brought light into my worthless life."

I smiled sorrowfully. I knew she couldn't hear or see me. But I didn't care anymore. I needed to speak my thoughts, for the first time in my life.

"You were always the one person I put before everything else. I always thought what would be best for you. You were always the pretty one. You grew up cute, but you're beautiful now. I guess you can thank mom and dad for that now…I love you, Serah."

With that, I forced myself to draw away from her. I strode out of the cathedral, knowing that if I had stayed any longer I would never be able to bring myself to leave. The moment I stepped outside, the familiar buzz of conversation greeted my ears. I shut it out. All I wanted was to get through the crowd. It seemed that someone's eyes were watching me. I glanced over to see the last person I had standing there. Hope. He walked over and looked up at me.

"Lightning?" he asked gently. "I heard that you came here…"

"Did you?" I responded, trying to hide a sniffle. It didn't work. We had too strong of a connection for him to not notice the subtlest things I did.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tightly and comfortingly. I gently returned the gesture. As the area began to clear out, I lost it. I fell to my knees to better embrace the boy before me. I cried into his shoulder. How pathetic I had looked, a grown woman clinging to a teenager as though they were my last hope. But, he was.

"H-Hope," I choked out. "I d-don't e-even know what t-to do anymore."

He began rubbing my back. "Light, we'll be okay. We still have each other."

I pulled myself together as best I could and stood up. I knew Hope could tell that as soon as we got home I would need to cry. I had always bottled everything up, but now the bottle was about to burst. I needed to let it all out.

"Let's go home," Hope suggested, grabbing my hand and gently pulling me toward our now overly large house.

He fished the keys out of my coat pocket and unlocked the door, knowing that I was going to be unresponsive for at least a few hours. I stumbled into the house, a strange numbness taking over my senses. I had caught a quick glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked like the living dead, my face pale and eyes red. My mind barely registered my body collapsing onto the couch. It was the strangest sensation. I knew what I was doing, but it was hazy, as though I were looking at it through a fogged window.

I seemed to be taking advantage of my numbness by reminiscing subconsciously. It was something I didn't intentionally want to do, but I was doing it nevertheless. Memories of my innocent childhood flooded my mind. I let myself get lost in the happier times.

* * *

><p>"<em>Is it really there Claire?" Serah questioned warily.<em>

_I guess she had a good reason to be slightly on edge. After our last few adventures, we had gotten into lots of trouble. But it was different this time! This time I knew exactly what we were doing and where we were going. Plus, we weren't as little anymore. Now I was six, and Serah was four._

"_It's there alright," I assured with a grin._

_She gave a little smile and nod. "Alright."_

_I took her hand and led her to the little seaside cave. The tide was nice and low, so we had no problems getting in. The floor was lined with smooth stones, while the walls had seashells beaten into them by the waves. The ceiling had a few strands of seaweed hanging from it. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at it all. It was the natural beauty of living near the ocean._

"_Um, Claire?" Serah said, snapping me out of my thoughts._

"_Oh, right!"_

_I quickly led her further in, to a rock large enough for one of us to sit on. I yanked up a few nearby stones and pulled out a golden locket. I swung it in front of her face._

"_See? I told you it was here."_

_She stared at it in awe. "Wow, it's so pretty! Can I keep it?"_

_I laughed. "As long as you take good care of it, I don't see why not."_

_She began cheering with joy. She was so cute, really. It's no wonder everyone automatically loved her the second they met her. Serah really was the incarnation of adorableness. She dragged me out of the cave. I was a little upset about that because I wanted to collect some shells from there. As ungirly as I was, I still loved seashells. Mom teased me about it, but I couldn't help it if I liked them._

_We headed home, Serah skipping alongside me as I walked. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, smiling the entire way home._


	2. Partings and Reunions

_I'm really feeling the mood of this story right now. Reviews are very much loved._

_Oh, and for anyone who does not like Hope, he is not a huge part of the story, don't worry. He's just necessary for some plot development. There are a lot of flashbacks in this story, so events that are skipped over will most likely be defined later. Sorry if it seems like I'm jumping around a lot. There's a method to my madness though. ;)_

_Summary: Her entire life was stolen away. At least that's how she saw it. She had never done anything wrong. She lived an honest life, and all for her sister. But she had nothing to continue that life for. Not anymore._

"_In the scattering twilight, the sun is red like teary eyes. Bit by bit, as if dissolving; little by little, this world is dying." –Kagamine Rin_

* * *

><p><em>It's been 4 months since that day. It took me a month to get back on my feet. Things have pretty much fallen back into place. But underneath my cool exterior, I'm still dead inside. Maybe one day I'll finally be the same. But right now, things are looking bleak.<em>

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes to find a very happy, too happy, face smiling down at me. I blinked once, willing my blurry vision to focus. The face became clearer until I could finally see who it was. A cute girl, looking around 17, even though in reality she was 23: brownish red hair, hazel eyes that were mainly green.<p>

"Good morning Claire," she greeted.

"Don't call me that," I hissed.

"Come on, we've known each other since we were little," she pouted.

"Leave me alone Kaika."

Kaika had been my first friend when I had started school. While all the other kids avoided me, she had gone out of her way to be friendly. I forgot that I had given her permission to come by whenever she felt like it. I had said that 6 years ago.

"I just want to help you out."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

She grinned and stood up, grabbing something off the ground. It was a tray with delicious looking food piled high on it.

"I made you breakfast in bed! That's how I'm helping!"

I sighed. She might have been annoying sometimes, but at least she was kind and helpful. She placed the tray gently on my lap and sat beside me, running a hand through my hair. I ate a little bit of the chocolate chip pancakes she made me. As much as I hated to admit it, they were my favorite breakfast food ever since Serah had made them for me when she was 10. Serah…

I could tell Kaika was sensing my sorrow. Or did she see the tears forming in my eyes?

"You feeling any better?" she asked tentatively.

"N-not really." I tried not to stutter and failed miserably.

She wrapped her arms around me gently, holding me like a sister would, which of course made me want to cry even more.

"Kaika…if I told you that I felt dead, would you understand?"

Kaika nodded in complete understanding. I felt so stupid. She had lost just as much as me, more even. I set the tray at the foot of the bed and hugged her as she was hugging me. I was suddenly so thankful to have both Kaika and Hope with me. They both knew all too well what I was going through.

* * *

><p><em>That day has always been burned into my memory. It was so peaceful, as always. I was so glad to live in a village like Oerba. Currently I was sitting on top of the schoolhouse, amongst the beautiful flowers that grew here. Oerba, the village of flowers. That's what we were famous for. Not being powerful, or wise, but being kind to nature and our gorgeous flowers.<em>

_I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, and knew who it was instantly. I turned and grinned at my big sister._

"_Hi Fang!" I exclaimed happily._

_She chuckled and ruffled my hair. "What're you doing out here, Kaika? It's Sunday."_

"_I wanted to see the flowers," I explained, smoothing my hair with little success. It was just as wild and unruly as my sister's mane._

"_You see them every day. Why not spend some time with me and Vanille?"_

"_I like being up here. I can think really clearly."_

"_Suit yourself, little sis." She kissed the top of my head and walked down the stairs and back home._

_I lay back on the ground and stared up at the cloudless sky above. I thought I saw the sky almost twist and warp in places, but I figured it was just the sun playing tricks on my eyes. I was just about to try and take a nap when I heard a loud thud. I quickly shot up and looked around._

_The entire village was a horrible sight to behold. The buildings were rusty and unlivable, looking like they hadn't been touched for centuries. The only familiar thing I saw was Vanille's little friend Bhakti, but he was rusted as well and surrounded by countless Cie'th. The flowers were almost all gone, only remaining on top of the schoolhouse. The lush fields that had once been here were instead ashen sand, and in the distance, instead of seeing the floating shell of Cocoon, I saw a crystalized shell resting on a pillar of crystal._

_I knew deep down this was Oerba, but I couldn't, no, I _refused_ to believe it. This place was dead. I couldn't feel any life except that of the mourning Cie'th. I couldn't help but break down crying. Was this our future? This is what our beautiful Oerba would succumb to?_

_As if it was the goddess herself helping me, a strange object appeared before me. It looked like a sort of device. I touched it curiously and it started to glow and expand. The glow enveloped me and next thing I knew, I was floating through a tunnel of sorts. I had no idea where I was going or what had happened. But I knew I wouldn't be getting back to Oerba anytime soon._

* * *

><p>Hope walked into my room, knocking as he did. He looked ecstatic for the first time since Serah's death.<p>

"What's got you so happy?" Kaika asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Light, you've got to come downstairs!"

I clearly looked confused but got out of bed anyway and walked down the stairs into the living room. I can easily say that the sight greeting me was the happiest moment of my life in the past three years.

Sitting on my couch was none other than the bubbly little redhead that I had grown to love and leaning on the wall with her signature grin was the teasing brunette huntress that had opened my eyes. I was so happy I thought I would cry.

"Fang…Vanille…" I choked out. "H-how…?"

"We just woke up from crystal stasis," Vanille explained with her sweet smile and accent that my ears accepted so eagerly.

I ran over and hugged her tightly. "It's been three whole years…"

"Hey, don't I get a hug Sunshine?" Fang said with a playful grin.

"Get over here, Fang." I opened one arm for her and she came over and wrapped one arm around me and the other around Vanille.

I looked over at Hope and Kaika. Hope was grinning like an idiot, as I figured I probably was as well. Kaika looked a little less than ecstatic though, her face looking unbelieving and shocked. Fang looked up from my face to see what I was looking at. Her eyes widened to immense proportions.

"Kai?" she inquired, standing and walking over to her.

"Fang, is that really you?" Kaika managed to say.

The tanned Pulsian said nothing, pulling her into a tight embrace that she quickly returned.

"Oerba Yun Kaika, I swear to Etro, you are the hardest person to keep track of."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oerba Yun Kaika? Fang, Kaika is your sister?"

Kaika laughed happily. "Sorry I didn't tell you who I was before, Light. It's a long story, what happened."

"One you need to explain to me, young lady," Fang stated, sounding more like a mother than the wild huntress she was.

Kaika rubbed the back of her head and let out an awkward giggle as she told her story.


	3. Why Are You Here?

_Well, definitely not as soon as I hoped to update, but an update all the same, yes? Sorry, I was busy with some birthday celebrations (lots of different groups of friends that don't get along well with each other…fun). Anyway, on with the story._

_Clearly I'm incorporating some ideas from XIII-2, such as Time Gates. I might include some XIII-2 characters, but as of right now, I'm not sure. Also, Kaika is inspired by my friend, Kaika. Such creativity with the character's name, right? Oh, and here are all the characters ages:_

_Lightning: 23_

_Serah (when she died): 21_

_Hope: 16, nearly 17_

_Kaika: 23 current, 5 in flashbacks from this and last chapter_

_Fang: 25 current, 9 in flashback from last chapter (she's younger than she should be because of the whole crystal stasis thing)_

_Vanille: 15, almost 16_

_As of right now, these are the only main characters in the story, but I'll probably add in Sazh. Oh yes, Sazh is very much alive, just living very far away. I don't know why, but I love him. He acts like a little kid._

_Summary: Her entire life was stolen away. At least that's how she saw it. She had never done anything wrong. She lived an honest life, and all for her sister. But she had nothing to continue that life for. Not anymore._

"_So, why did you come?" –Aerith Gainsborough_

* * *

><p><em>When I got out of that strange tunnel, I found myself in an unfamiliar city. The people were dressed differently than back home, and the buildings were strange. I didn't recognize the architecture style, or the technology. It was all so…futuristic.<em>

"_Is this…the future? But where am I?" I wondered aloud to myself._

_I slowly wandered through my new surroundings. People stared as I walked by them, two different questions easily identifiable on their faces. "Why is that little girl walking around all alone?" and, "Why is she wearing such strange clothes?"_

_I figured I must be on Cocoon. That would explain why everyone thought I was so strange. I wasn't really looking where I was going, so it wasn't very surprising when I felt myself bump into someone. I fell on my butt and looked up at them apologetically._

"_Oh, sorry sir!"_

_He looked down at me disapprovingly. "How old are you young lady?"_

"_Um, I'm 5…"_

_Without a word, he picked me up and carried me off. I kicked and screamed, but no one seemed to care. Is this how all Cocoonians treated kidnappings? I was shocked and appalled that no one was doing anything about it. But then I realized that people were giving him a little smile or bow of the head as he walked past._

_Oh, of course. He must have been a soldier or something. So then he thought he was just dealing with a kid skipping school. Joy…school on Cocoon was probably going to be torture. Especially since I had no idea how much technology had advanced or what had happened in history since my time._

_Where would I live? Would I have to live in some sort of orphanage or foster home? Oh Etro, anything but that! _

_I didn't have time to think about it more though, because we arrived at the school. I noticed that we had left the more city-like area of town, and now we were close to a beach. I could smell the ocean breeze from here, and it helped calm me down a bit. I'd always liked the sea, almost as much as I loved flowers._

_The man took me inside and set me down in front of a lady I presumed to be the teacher. She was pretty old, but looked nice enough._

"_Looks like this one was trying to skip school," the man reported in a very business-like tone._

"_Ah, I see. I don't recognize her. What's your name sweetie?" she asked me with a kind smile._

"_Oerba- uh…" I cut myself off, realizing that a name like that wouldn't work here. I quickly made up a more suitable name for myself. "Kaika Kiajh."_

_She took out an attendance roster and scanned it quickly._

"_Hm, there's no one by that name on here. Did your parents not register you?"_

"_I don't have any parents," I lied._

"_Oh dear! This is terrible. I can't let a little girl like you go around without a home or loving family."_

I can use a sword, stupid, _I thought to myself. Of course no one would expect that at my age on Cocoon. A bunch of spineless, pampered fal'Cie pets._

"_I can manage on my own," I insisted._

"_Absurd. You can live with me until we find you a good home," she said with an air of finality._

_I sighed, but let her have her way. I couldn't make a scene, especially since I didn't know how long I was going to be here. She picked me up and carried me into a small bathroom. She handed me a strange looking outfit._

"_Here's your uniform, Kaika. Do you need help putting it on?"_

"_I can manage," I replied smoothly._

"_Alright. Come on out when you're ready."_

_With that, she left. I managed to get the weird "uniform" on after a few minutes. Since when did schools have uniforms? That wasn't very fair. I walked out of the bathroom and looked around to see what everyone was doing. It looked like they were doing something with blocks and shapes._

_I already knew all my colors and shapes, the Pulsian alphabet, and I knew how to count to 1,000. It seemed like the education on Cocoon was significantly worse than back on Gran Pulse. But I figured I may as well give it a chance. I got my own set of blocks and made a complex structure, while using colors cleverly as well. The teacher looked dumbfounded at how someone my age could do that._

"_Um, excuse me?"_

_I looked over at the door to see a girl with pink hair and blue eyes standing there, looking bored. I smiled a bit. Maybe there would be some decent people here. I stood up and walked over to her with a friendly smile._

"_Hey, I'm Kaika," I greeted, offering my hand for her to shake. They had to still do handshakes, right?_

_She gripped my hand and shook it gently, a smile on her face. "I'm Claire. Kaika's kind of a strange name, don't you think?"_

"_Claire's a stranger name in my opinion," I replied with a grin._

_She laughed. "Fair enough, I suppose."_

"_So, Claire, do you like swords?"_

_She straightened her posture and looked at me with an unreadable expression._

"_What kind of swords?" she asked._

"_Oh, you know, traditional, broadswords, gunblades…"_

_She grinned. "Gunblades?"_

"_Oh yes."_

_We grinned at each other, clearly on the exact same page._

"_Have you ever used one?" I asked her._

_She nodded and asked me the same question with her eyes._

"_I only used a gunblade once, but I know how to use a traditional sword very well."_

"_Wanna train together sometime?"_

"_Nothing would make me happier."_

_That was the beginning of my friendship with "Lightning" Claire Farron, my first friend from Cocoon._

* * *

><p>We all stared at Kaika as she finished telling her story, from the time she disappeared from her own time in Oerba to her coming to my house this morning. Fang was the first to speak up.<p>

"Well, looks like you've definitely preserved the Yun spirit, ya? You've been through a lot, but you stayed strong, just like you should."

A smile lit up her features. "You really think so, sis?"

Fang merely smiled and nodded.

The sight made me smile sadly with nostalgia. It reminded me so much of me and Serah…

_Stop it! _I yelled at my mind. _This is a time to be happy. She wouldn't want me to be sad…she would want me to live the life I wanted to. She'd want me to be happy._

Happy…maybe I could be truly happy again.

"Oh, Light?" Vanille's voice invaded my thoughts.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We met someone on the way here. He said he knew you. He's actually waiting for the okay to come inside. Is that okay with you?"

"Hm…I suppose."

Vanille skipped over to the door and opened it, calling out happily, "She said you can come in!"

The last person I ever expected to see walked through the doorway coolly, smiling that charming smile that was so familiar. My eyes were wide with surprise, and I guessed Kaika's were too. After all, we both knew that man since we were 10.

"Hey Claire," he greeted me, as if this wasn't the first time we were seeing each other in 7 years.

"That's Lightning to you, Caelum."

* * *

><p><em>We'll get their backstory in the next chapter, which will hopefully be up by next week. Reviews are loved and appreciated.<em>


	4. High School Sweathearts

_Finally I get to write with Noctis in the damn story. I'm happy about that. And since they already have a backstory, their relationship can move quicker! Yes!_

_I don't have anything to ramble about, so let's get on with the story, or as Kaika always says, "Story time!"_

"_I can remember the time when the sound of your voice drifted far from mine. All things must come to an end, but I hoped like a circle we would go round again." – rockleetist_

* * *

><p>Noctis rubbed the back of his head. "Look, Claire, I know it's been a long time, but that doesn't mean you have to be rude."<p>

"You left without a single word," I growled at him. "Fuck off."

"You do kind of deserve some sort of punishment for that," Kaika chimed in. "Personally, I'm thrilled to see you though."

He gave her a little smile and a grateful nod of his head. My eye twitched. I didn't want to see his face, let alone see him look _happy_. Why should he get to be happy? I walked, more stomped, really, over to him and slapped him clean across the face.

He merely laughed and rubbed his cheek a little, which made me even angrier.

"Okay, I deserved that."

I scoffed angrily. "At least you admit it…"

"Um, Sunshine, I'm confused."

I turned to look at Fang and Vanille, who were confused and shocked respectively. I sighed as I launched into my brief explanation of what happened.

"Caelum here and I might have dated for a while in high school."

"Then shouldn't you be happy to see him?" Vanille asked.

Kaika shook her head. "There's more to it than just that. You see, they met in 5th grade and became friends pretty quickly. That's why he's always been allowed to call her Claire. Now, they started dating freshman year, and were practically in love after the first year."

"Huh," Vanille said brilliantly.

"Who knew Sunshine would've had a high school sweetheart?" Fang commented.

"I'm not done," she announced, sounding a little ticked at getting interrupted. "When we became juniors, he pretty much just disappeared without a trace. Light was heartbroken, and she's had this sort of hate/miss mix of emotions towards him ever since."

"Not true," I argued. "I purely hate him."

"Then why did you use to cry and say-" I quickly covered her mouth before she could say anything else about how pathetic I was after he first left.

"You used to cry about me?" Noctis's voice was dripping with concern, and maybe a hint of regret.

Kaika ripped my hand off her mouth. "Constantly for the first month."

"Could you not share things about my life for me?" I asked her rhetorically.

"Sorry, it's my job to embarrass you and reveal the truth," she teased with a stupid smile plastered on her face.

I walked away from her and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room Noctis was on. Still too close to him for my taste. I glanced over at Fang, who was grinning ear to ear.

"What's so amusing, Fang?" I glared icily at her.

"It's just interesting to know what you were like when you were still Claire."

I sighed exasperatedly. "I hate it when people do that."

"Do what?" Vanille questioned.

"Talk about her like she's two different people," Noctis answered for me. I automatically glared, and just as I was about to make some smart-ass comment about people answering questions for me, he pulled me over to him and, clearly not wanting to deal with my rude comments, covered my mouth…with his lips.

As furious as I was with him, I couldn't help but reminisce as I rediscovered all the sensations that he made me feel. There was that familiar tingle, the feel of my lips melding against his, his strong arms around my waist, my arms wrapping around his shoulders and neck as my eyes slipped closed…

Shit, I was kissing the jerk back! I quickly shoved him away, ignoring my automatic sadness at the loss of warmth and contact. I wasn't going to let him off that easy, if at all. I turned away so I wouldn't have to look at him. There was a moment of silence.

"There are actually a couple of reasons why I'm over here," he admitted.

"State them, then get lost."

He walked over and turned me around, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Firstly, I wanted to see you and your pretty face again. Secondly, I wanted to know what my chances were at getting you back."

"1 in 10 trillion," I interrupted coldly.

He ignored that and continued. "Thirdly, I heard about Serah. I wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

I stiffened at his mention of Serah. It had only been four months since…oh, Serah…

"Um, Noct, can you give us a moment?" Kaika asked gently.

He drew away after a second, understanding Kaika's need to talk to me. She pulled me into a warm, tight embrace and kissed my cheek in a sisterly fashion.

"Light, you know that Serah would want you to remember the good things about her, like how beautiful she was and how happy she made you. Remember the good times with her."

I couldn't do what she was telling me to, but I managed to hold back my tears and compose myself. I was so pathetic, crying at the smallest mention of my sister. But maybe that wasn't what made me want to cry this time.

Noctis said that he wanted to make sure I was alright. Whether I missed him or hated him, I couldn't deny that those words meant something special to me.

"Caelum?"

"Yes Lightning?"

"Why don't you stay for dinner?"

I could hear the grin in his voice. "I knew you couldn't completely hate me."

I turned to look at him. "Believe me, I do. But you came all the way over here, so you may as well stay for dinner."

"It's better than nothing."

Vanille started bouncing up and down like a 5-year-old who just got a new toy. "Ooh! Let me cook dinner!"

"Do you want any help?" Hope offered.

Fang smiled slyly. "You just want to spend some quality time with Nille."

Hope blushed and quickly walked into the kitchen with Vanille. Kaika grabbed Fang's hand and led her upstairs, saying something about showing her to a place she could stay the night. That left just me and Noctis alone in the living room. I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly.

"So, Caelum, you got a place to stay?"

He shook his head. "I did originally, but I kind of got kicked out…"

"Well, I may hate you, but I'm not heartless. You can stay here until you find another place."

He smiled. "Thanks Light."

I sat down on the couch and he quickly lowered himself down beside me. I felt him take my hand in his. I looked over at him, letting him for now.

"I really do miss being with you, Light," he said as he rubbed circles into the back of my hand with his thumb. "You're even more beautiful now then you were in high school."

I looked away and slid my hand out of his. "Yeah…look Caelum, there really isn't much of a chance of us getting back together. I've moved on."

"Don't say that. I know what you felt when we kissed earlier. I felt it too."

"That was only a physical pleasure."

"Try to say that after this," he dared me as he leaned in and kissed me sweetly and lovingly.

I was going to push him away again, but I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him and let myself feel like I was a teenager again. We really did fit perfectly against each other, and that just made it even better. He pulled me into his lap and held me close. I shifted so I was more straddling him, and our innocent kiss quickly turned into a make out session.

He gripped my hair as he nipped my bottom lip, making me groan a bit. I was about to start grinding against him when I heard a wolf whistle, followed by Kaika saying, "Get a room!"

I quickly pulled away from him and my face went bright red. I stood up and walked upstairs.

"Claire, where are you going?" Noctis called out.

"I'm going to bed!"

I slammed my bedroom door behind me and lay down, quickly closing my eyes and falling asleep.


End file.
